Technology companies weighing again on US stocks; Oil falls

Published 07-27-2018

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A slide in technology companies weighed on U.S. stocks Friday, adding to the market's losses from a day earlier. Twitter plunged after the social media network said its monthly users declined in the second quarter. The drop in tech stocks outweighed gains in banks, retailers and restaurant chains. Smaller-company stocks fell more than the rest of the market.

KEEPING SCORE: The S&P 500 index fell 10 points, or 0.4 percent, to 2,826 as of noon Eastern Time. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 24 points, or 0.1 percent, to 25,505. The Nasdaq composite index, which is heavily weighted with technology companies, lost 71 points, or 0.9 percent, to 7,780. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks gave up 27 points, or 1.6 percent, to 1,668.

The S&P 500, the market's benchmark index, is still on track for its fourth weekly gain in a row.

SOCIAL MEDIA WOES: For the second straight day a social media company led a steep decline in technology companies, cutting into some of the market's gains. Twitter plummeted 18.4 percent to $35.04 after the company reported disappointing user totals and its forecast disappointed investors. Snap, the company behind the Snapchat messaging app, slid 4.4 percent to $12.79. Facebook shares dipped 0.3 percent to $175.77 a day after the social media giant led a slide in technology stocks that snapped the S&P 500's three-day winning streak. Facebook's steep drop, which erased nearly $120 billion of the company's market value, was brought on by its warning to investors that it sees slower revenue growth ahead.

STRONGER GROWTH: The U.S. economy surged in the April-June quarter to an annual growth rate of 4.1 percent. That's the fastest pace since 2014, driven by consumers who began spending their tax cuts and exporters who rushed to get their products delivered ahead of retaliatory tariffs.